✨BOOK REVIEW: Make Me a Mixtape by Jennifer Whiteford

4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

Music is a language that connects so many of us, even if we don’t share the same culture, background or language because music is just that — a language on its own. I am someone who also finds solace between the words of songs and sometimes feel like songs can put into words what my mind is unable. I love how music was at the center of this book and connecting all the different people together.

I found myself able to connect to Allie both in her ability to process emotions through music but also helloooooo avoidant girly who runs away at the first touch of anything romantic. Ryan was a teddy bear. A giant teddy bear. I don’t know why I was getting Marshall from HIMYM vibes, but I was. And the fact that he was an OG groupie?! Adorable.

I found all the characters amazing and they were genuine, flawed, owned up to their problems and ultimately CARED.

Make me a mixtape? The language of love. Truly. Need to apologize to someone? Send them a song. Need to confess your love? Send them a song.

⭐️⭐️✨ = 2 stars and a consideration

⭐️ I didn’t expect to be reading this book and find myself double taking at the fact that one of the characters in the group was named Anisha, like, WHAT?! I never see my name in things like that, so that made my heart happy. But this Anisha was totally giving me a run for my money and proper grown up boss lady. Love her!

⭐️ I really wish that Mindy’s cafe was a real place because I would love to go there and spend time with such cool people. In my head, Anisha and Ren incorporate live music nights on the weekend at the cafe to bring the musical community together just as Mindy has been doing things to create ties with the community (and one day Allie, Jessi and the rest of the Jetskis play a show.)

✨Not really a consideration but I am just sad that the book had to end.

Thank you to Jennifer Whitefor, Penguin Randomhouse Canada, DoubleDay and Net Galley for this ARC

Pub Date: October 8, 2024

Make Me a Mixtape was a fairly cute, light story about a former punk rocker and an awkward Alabamian boy in the big city. Ryan had some red flags that I could not see past- his inability to express himself, his insistence on insertin himself into Allie’s search for her former band mate… he just seemed like a wimp in some ways and overly aggressive in others. I do appreciate the diversity of characters and body representation, and I love that the story focused on a female musician. It was cute, but not amazing. I’d try another by this author.

For me Make Me a Mixtape was a sweet love story about finding yourself and taking a good look at how we sabatoge our own happiness. The main characters are sweet but flawed in a way that causes friction in their friendship that they need to figure out before they can become more.

I loved the supporting characters as much as I did Allie and Ryan, and they blended together perfectly to set the scene in their Brooklyn neighbourhood. I think the driving plot line of finding Allie's long lost band mates was a great backdrop to the friendship turned romance, and I found myself as invested in her history as I was their relationship. 80's hits and a punk rock scene were an easy sell for me to pick this up and I'm so glad I did! I would definitely read more from Jennifer Whiteford and I'm looking forward to her next release.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC to review.

This was a sweet love story that also spends a lot of time exploring the ups and downs of adult friendship. It gets a bit steamy, too!

‘Make me a mixtape’, was a funny, romantic, and touching read for me. These protagonists are seriously just a serious blast to read. I adored both Allie and Ryan. And, I already can’t wait for another novel from Whiteford.

Allie Andrew’s is a former punk rocker who now works in her aunt’s Brooklyn cafe. She mainly keeps to herself but one day she delivers coffee to a bubbly podcaster named Ryan, who remembers her from her rock days and it sets off a new era for her with friends, a crush, and a giant life change.

I liked this book, but as a former traveling musician and a person from the American South, I feel like it has problems. Beginning with the Southern character Ryan, so much about his “Southernness” was beyond stereotypical. People from Birmingham DO NOT think moving to NYC is akin to being in league with the Devil. Are people religious down South? A lot of them are. Do they think anything above the Mason Dixon line is from hell? No. It was just weird and offensive. And as a former touring musician, while I felt a lot about Allie’s existence in her punk rock world was true, it felt … self conscious. I definitely felt like the whole set up was a bit stereotypical or assumed rather than known. That being said, I think the ideas behind the book are solid, the characters are well drawn, and I love that it centered around mix tapes. The 80s pop song cover idea was fun and genuine.

There were two spicy moments in the book but they were ruined by consent. I have noticed that people go out of their way now to reflect consent in the act but this was waaaaaaaay overdone. It was odd how many times the people asked each other permission to touch the other. It pulls the reader out of the story and makes it self conscious.

I think Whiteford is a good writer and she lays a solid foundation for a pretty unique set of characters. (And I was so happy to see a character from my hometown! Even if he was stereotypical.) The romance is there, the plot points are there, I just think it could do with a little more attention to being genuine than what’s expected of a punk rocker/Southerner/modern relationship. I give it 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love a good music based romance and this perfectly fits the bill. I cannot wait to share my full thoughts and review on this one, I am slowly catching up on reviews due to an unexpected medical issue and this one has been moved to the top of the pile,

This book was addictive. The writing style drew me in and held me in a death grip of character development